October 25, 2021
SAN FRANCISCO, California—Two San Francisco prosecutors quit their jobs in Chesa Boudin’s district attorney’s office and joined the effort to have him recalled.
Prosecutors Brooke Jenkins and Don Du Bain quit their jobs over Boudin’s lack of commitment to prosecute crimes, reports the Washington Examiner.
Jenkins and Bain join at least 50 other lawyers from Boudin’s office who have quit or were fired since he took over back in January 2020—nearly a third of the department’s attorneys, according to FOX News.
“Chesa has a radical approach that involves not charging crime in the first place and simply releasing individuals with no rehabilitation and putting them in positions where they are simply more likely to re-offend,” Jenkins stated in an interview. “Being an African American and Latino woman, I would wholeheartedly agree that the criminal justice system needs a lot of work, but when you are a district attorney, your job is to have balance.”
Prosecutor Du Bain criticized Boudin for ignoring laws and court decisions that he does not like in order “to impose his own version of what he believes is just.”
Some may remember Boudin specifically backstabbing an Asian family. Jack Liao’s 84-year-old grandfather was jump-kicked by 24-year-old Eric Ramos-Hernandez back in February 2020.
According to Jack Liao, he and his father were only contacted by Chesa Boudin’s office twice in 2020, right after the attack happened. However, the DA’s office allegedly went behind Jack and his dad’s back and spoke with the grandfather multiple times throughout 2020 and the case proceeded, according to Here/Say Media.
“They expected a senior citizen who was traumatized and confused and doesn’t understand English, to understand legal jargon,” Jack Liao said. “When old people don’t understand, they just smile and nod.”
“We just want my grandpa to feel safe; we want everybody to feel safe,” Liao said. “I’m 26 years old, and even I don’t feel safe. My firm stance is that this was a violent hate crime, especially because of the rise in stigma against Asian Americans. It disgusts me that our DA and justice system is failing us and refusing to take this as seriously as a hate crime, and I find that even more ridiculous because a lot of Asian hate cases are blowing up around the country.”
“When I talked to my grandfather two days ago he said he definitely wanted the attacker to be punished,” Liao said, also pointing to an interview his grandfather did with ABC7’s Dion Lim, where the grandfather says, “I want a very strict punishment…but I don’t want him to be executed.”
According to Jack Liao, the DA’s office told the family his grandfather did not want to press charges. The family says Rong Xin Liao (the victim) would have never said that.
About 83,487 signatures have been submitted to election officials to force Boudin into a recall election during next year’s June primary. At least 51,325 signatures are required to put a recall issue on the ballot, reports NBC Bay Area.
This is the second time Boudin has faced a possible recall. The first took place back in January 2021 after two San Francisco women, one being 27-year-old Hanako Abe, were struck and killed by 45-year-old African-American Troy McAlister—a three-strike offender.
Boudin is the son of convicted Weather Underground terrorists who were convicted of murder and was raised by step-parents William Ayers, the founder of Weather Underground, and his wife, Bernadine Dohrn, reports the Washington Examiner.
Feature Images via Instagram